Moving to end a controversial Senate exemption from campaign finance
disclosure requirements that apply to everyone else, Senators Russ
Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ) introduced legislation yesterday
to require that Senate candidates and party committees file campaign
finance reports electronically, and that these reports be made
available to the public through the Internet and other means within 48
hours.

A Campaign Finance Institute report of October 23, 2003 –
cited by Senator Feingold – had demonstrated that the Senate’s
insistence on filing paper instead of electronic reports prevents
voters from obtaining relevant information about candidates’ financial
support at the time they need it most – before an election. The report
featured a survey that showed almost all Senate candidates were using
electronic software to compile their financial reports, but then
converting them into a paper form for filing, depriving their
constituents of ready access to the information. (To read the CFI
report, see www.cfinst.org/pr/102303.html)

Presenting the new bill, S. 1874, Senator Feingold said,
“There is no justification for not making our campaign finance
information as readily accessible to the public as the information
filed by House candidates or others.” Feingold criticized the current
system for producing “completely wasteful expenditure” to “re-enter
information into databases that almost every campaign has available in
electronic format.” And he expressed hope that the Senate would “act
quickly” on the “long overdue” legislation.

Senator McCain declared, “The Senate’s current failure to
provide its constituents with electronically disclosed, timely
information is unconscionable. Senate filings should follow the same
criteria as other campaign finance reports…. If Senators and Senate
candidates can use technology to run their offices and websites, why
can’t they use it to better inform their own constituents about how
their campaigns are funded?” Under the bill, McCain noted, “The public
interest will be better served and voters’ faith in their elected
leaders will be restored.”

The outlook for the legislation, which supports
recommendations previously made by the Federal Election Commission,
seems promising. On November 5, Senator Trent Lott (R-MS), Chairman of
the Senate Rules Committee (which has jurisdiction over this issue),
told a U.S. Chamber of Commerce meeting, “I’m for the electronic filing
of your financial reports…. That’s part of honesty in elections, I
think. Make it accessible. So we are looking at some things in the
rules that we can change…and make the institution look better and run
better.” Other members of the Rules Committee have also indicated they
are open to change.

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The Campaign Finance Institute is a non-partisan, non-profit institute
affiliated with the George Washington University that conducts
objective research and education, empanels task forces and makes
recommendations for policy change in the field of campaign finance. It
is supported by generous grants from the Joyce Foundation, Smith
Richardson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts. For further
information, visit the CFI web site at www.CFInst.org.